Movin' out

NEW YORK -- "Five-hundred, twenty five thousand, six hundred minutes," chant the youngsters of "Rent" in "Seasons of Love." "How do you measure -- measure a year?"

How do you measure "Rent," which exits Broadway Sunday after 12 years and 5,140 performances?

Writer-composer Jonathan Larson's 1996 romantic rock musical about East Village artists and squatters was more than a big hit -- it was a phenomenon. Fueled by real-life tragedy and expressing contemporary themes, "Rent" especially appealed to younger viewers. Some saw the show dozens, even hundreds, of times.

"It's not just a financial or a popular success," says Daphne Rubin-Vega, who created the key role of Mimi, an HIV-positive exotic dancer and heroin user. "'Rent' speaks to people not usually represented in the theater."

The seventh longest-running attraction in Broadway history, the musical has grossed more than $280 million at the Nederlander Theatre and $630 million worldwide, has been performed in 22 languages, and spawned a 2005 movie. The show grabbed a Pulitzer, three Tonys and virtually every major stage honor.

Inspired by Puccini's "La Boheme," Larson worked on "Rent" for seven years while waiting tables in a downtown diner. New York Theatre Workshop's off-Broadway premiere was about to begin previews in January 1996 when Larson died from an aortic aneurysm after the dress rehearsal. He was 35.

Amid headlines, the show went on anyway, won critical raves for its memorably tuneful score and multi-culti ensemble, and sold out its two-month run. In April, commercial producers moved director Michael Greif's staging and players uptown to the Nederlander, a disused 1,200-seat theater befitting the musical's grittiness.

It was lovingly embraced by Gen X audiences.

"It's hard to have perspective on something so extraordinary when you're in the eye of a cultural hurricane like that," says Rubin-Vega. "Suddenly we were the thing to do. Celebrities wanting to be seen went to see 'Rent.' Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. Patrick Swayze. It was wild."

Many of "Rent's" devoted fans camped outside the theater to grab same-day, front-row seats for $20. Repeat visitors became known as "Rentheads."

As original actors like Jesse L. Martin, Taye Diggs and Idina Menzel moved on to other projects, they were succeeded by the likes of Joey Fatone, Neil Patrick Harris and Drew Lachey.

With youth-quaking hits like "Spring Awakening" arriving in recent seasons, "Rent" began to wind down. After a June 1 closing was posted, a boom at the box office pushed back the date. Last week the show played to full houses.

Newark native Gwen Stewart, who gave voice to assorted characters in the original ensemble for more than two years, rejoined the cast in July. She finds the audience response this summer to be as intense as in the musical's early days.

"It's been incredible," says Stewart. "The show touches so many people on so many levels."

Set in the early '90s, "Rent" seems a period piece these days, but Stewart believes its heartfelt message about inclusion is timeless.

"I've heard some say, yeah, 'Rent' is great but it's outdated," she observes. "The story is about poor people, homosexuals, drug addicts, the homeless, AIDS, intolerance -- and as long as these things are part of this world, the show will never be outdated."

After the company takes its bows tomorrow night, some original cast members will join in a farewell rendition of "Seasons of Love."

The closing performance is being filmed by Sony Pictures Releasing for a high-definition cinecast at some 600 movie theaters, including more than a dozen in New Jersey, on Sept. 24, 25, 27 and 28. "Rent" producers also are selling 32 front-row seats to the final performance for $20.